security at key pathogen labs: at n. Italy, UNC, China

 8-2O-2020       On April 21, 2020 a UNC researcher wearing full-body protective gear was bitten on his/her index finger while weighing a mouse infected with a genetically altered form of the SARS-CoV-2 virus adapted to grow in mice.  In contrast to the 2016 mouse mishap, the researcher bitten this spring was told to self-quarantine at home for 14 days, records show.  The local Health Department was also notified about the incident.UNC officials declined to be interviewed and did not answer questions about the incidents sent to them in writing.    Research at UNC’s biosafety level 3 labs has come under scrutiny in the past because of controversial coronavirus experiments its scientists have done with partners at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.  https://www.laboratoryequipment.com/567317-Near-Misses-at-UNC-s-BSL-3-Lab-Illustrate-Risk-of-Accidents-With-Coronaviruses/

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  The dedicated staff is trained regularly to the use class 4 PPE and to work in conditions of maximum safety and security.  The facility is also exploited for training purposes during biosafety training courses designed and implemented for the benefit of medical doctors, lab staff and technicians from different countries of the world.  As L. Sacco University Hospital at Milan is one of the two national reference structures for the response to medical emergencies related to infectious diseases, the staff of the BSL4 laboratory is often involved in exercises at national level.  http://climvib.eu/the-laboratory/bsl-4/

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4-5-20    According to guidelines from the “Oce of the National Health Council Oce of the National Administration of Chinese Medicine” (ONCONACM) 7 , procedures that do not propagate biological material (e. g. the cultivation of pathogens or production of viruses) such as antigen tests, sera tests, RNA extraction and samples inactivation, can be carried out in the BSL2 lab with BSL3 individual protection.  Departments of laboratory medicine in Chinese hospitals generally carry out lots of diagnostic tests using biochemical or immunological methods, or molecular biology, microbiology and cell biology techniques, with clinical diagnostic testing in the same facility; here a high number of clinical staff is present at the same time, making it potentially dangerous for an infectious agent to be handled.  In this case all of the personnel would be required to wear BSL3 protection due to pathogen transmission risks, which might present a logistical and financial burden, especially due to the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) during outbreaks.   https://assets.researchsquare.com/files/rs-33080/v1/91b2be99-8a87-47a9-94cb-8a6be5a534ec.pdf